Bahamas teen dies after lightning strike at R.M. Bailey High School

Bahamas: A 16-year-old boy, a student from R.M. Bailey Senior High School in Nassau, The Bahamas, died after getting hit by lightning within the open grounds of the school during extreme weather. The student has been identified as Anton Bowe, an 11th-grade student.

The Bahamas Ministry of Education, Science and Technology verified about the student hit by the lightning strike and was later rushed to the hospital for medical assistance but subsequently died suffering through the injuries.

According to the reports, Bowe reached the school just after 9 a.m.. moved through the security screening at the school and was proceeding further onto the school campus when lightning struck him.

Emergency responders immediately rushed to the teenager and tried to resuscitate him before he was taken to the hospital. Reports indicate that he was declared dead at around 9:30 a.m.

The Ministry of Education extended condolences to the family, guardians, teachers, classmates and the overall R.M. Bailey community of the student who died. Grief counsellors were brought into the school in the aftermath of the incident to aid students, teachers and staff grieving the sudden death.

Director of Education Dominique McCartney-Russel stated that the ministry’s primary priority was to offer emotional support instead of leaving the school without counselling support, which could have made the situation more distressing. Students of R.M. Bailey was subsequently dismissed early, whereas C.H. Reeves Junior School also got an early dismissal.

McCartney-Russel informed that other schools would stay open with decisions being determined case by case depending on the weather circumstances and if students could safely reach their classrooms.

Deputy Prime Minister and Interim Education Minister Chester Cooper stated that he had communicated with guardians of the students and offered condolences on the behalf of the Ministry of Education, Prime Minister Philip Davis and the Government of The Bahamas. Davis individually conveyed condolences to the student’s family and the overall school community.